ASP/PVSP CRT members training for the Urban Shield Event at the Alameda County Regional Training Center.

Crisis Response Team members from Avenal State Prison (ASP) and Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP) are training hard for Urban Shield, a massive multi-agency training exercise slated for September 2016.

ASP/PVSP Crisis Response Team has been active in the community assisting agencies in gang sweeps, warrant services, and working with Fresno’s Multi Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC) to eradicate gang and violent crimes.

Now the team has been invited to participate in the 2016 Urban Shield, a full-scale regional preparedness exercise. The event assesses the overall response capabilities of first responders, including their planning, policies, procedures, organization, equipment and training. The exercise evaluates the existing level of preparedness and capabilities, identifying not only what groups do well, but areas in need of improvement.

The exercise consists of the highest caliber first responders including SWAT teams, fire agencies and explosive ordnance disposal agencies.

(Editor’s note: Some websites may not be accessible from a CDCR computer.)

ASP/PVSP CRT members training for the Urban Shield Event at the Alameda County Regional Training Center.

2 Comments

Michael.Ramirez@cdcr.ca.gov
on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 11:29 am

I have much respect for ASP/PVSP CRT Commanders whose forward thinking have allowed their teams to be active in their communities. There are other CRT Commanders throughout the state who seek the same relationships and are looking for work with outside law enforcement to make our streets safer and to better our rapport with the community.

The Department has one of the largest tactical units in the country, with over three hundred active operators and it’s good to see other agencies can rely on the Department as a resource for critical operations. This can only be the case with units like CRT whose members are dedicated to upholding the high standards of the CRT program. With the political and cultural turmoil being what it is nowadays; perhaps the State should look into exploiting this valuable resource during large state emergencies that call for CRT’s expertise in tactical operations and negotiation management.

Consider some of the recent political unrest which has led to large scale rioting in the streets. The police response to this type of incident will require for a large number of police officers to be diverted from their routine patrol duties to respond to the crisis site. Instead of diverting service from the community; why not close some prison programs and temporarily divert law enforcement service from the prisons back to the community? CRT can be used to augment routine police operations and/or bolster the response to the incident, or even provide assistance in other ways that would free up their officers. In any event, I cannot imagine that a police department would decline our Department’s assistance during a large scale emergency wherein lives and property are at risk. There are many in the public who tend to look at our Department as a resource drain. The Department takes but does not give. The Department’s leadership can change that image by reaching out to our law enforcement communities and developing a statewide protocol for police departments throughout the state to call for CRT assistance during large scale emergencies.

So glad to see there are still good interactions between local law enforcement agencies and CDCR. Sure miss our monthly training we would conduct with those in the Central Valley Tactical Officer’s Association (CVTOA). Train hard – Toujours Pret!!